A Summer Night's Romance
by icy-piyo21
Summary: Gakuen AU. It's the start of summer, and Alfred decides to go to an amusement park with his friends. But they're all going as couples, and Alfred doesn't want to be alone. He takes Iggy with him, and a night on a ferris wheel changed their lives forever.


-A/N: Hello hello~ I remembered a story my muse told me. I loved the story a lot... And then I got inspired to make this. Oh, and the amusement park in here is purely fictional- I am using a lot of other amusement parks for reference, so don't get your panties in a bunch thinking "Have I went there before?" or "I've never heard of the park..."

Thanks a lot _GoldieAuvs_ on dA_,_ without you this story wouldn't have existed!

Enough rambling, enjoy! ...sorry if I fail... Italics are thoughts by the way.

This is set in the Gakuen Hetalia AU.

... AND THIS IS TO MAKE UP FOR THE STORY "UNVOICED APOLOGIES" THAT I WROTE AND I KNOW WAS SAD. I hope this can be enough for compensation!

_

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Tick, tock, tick, tock._

"Oh God, when will this ever end..." Whispers can be heard throughout the classroom, all impatient to just get the hell out of class.

_3 seconds... 2... 1..._

_Ding dong, ding dong..._

"Alright!"

"Score!"

"Hell yeah!"

The school bell resounded throughout the school , earning cheers from all the students in Gakuen Hetalia. The cries of joy were no surprise, as it marked the end of the last day of school, and the start of summer holidays.

"So, where will you guys be going this holiday?" Alfred F Jones, an American student, asked the gang of tenth-grade students gathering around his table.

A German student with unusually silver-coloured hair and red eyes, Gilbert Beillschmidt, spoke up. "I propose we go to that awesome amusement park downtown! I heard it was recently open, and we can all go an have fun, kesese!" He said, tacking on his signature laugh at the end of the sentence.

"I think it's a jolly great idea! We can get our partners to go out with us!" Antonio Fernandez Carriedo, the Spanish student chimed.

"Who wants to go with you, you bastard!" Lovino Vargas, an Italian student and the elder of the Vargas twins retorted.

And the gang started taking their partners out with them. Ludwig Beillschmidt, Gilbert's brother, had decided to take his partner, the other half of the Vargas twins Feliciano with him. Antonio will of course be going with Lovino (after much persuasion and bribing with a crate of fresh tomatoes), and Gilbert will be going with the Canadian student Matthew Williams, who is also Alfred's younger brother (though only by barely 4 minutes). Elisaveta Hedervary, the Hungarian student decided to go with Roderich Edelstein the Austrian student, and finally the Japanese student Kiku Honda will be going with the Chinese student Wang Yao.

Now this left Alfred confused- everyone was going in a couple! Alfred, being single, naturally had none. He quickly asked his friends for help.

"Um, who would I be going with, then? You guys are all going out together! I don't wanna be the 'odd-one-out' while you guys go all lovey-dovey with each other!" Alfred retorted, using air quotations around the 'odd-one-out' phrase for emphasis.

Some of the gang just laughed at him as Elisaveta gave him a very smart solution.

"Well, go ahead and take Arthur out with you, silly!"

"I simply agree with Elisa. She, for once, is right." Roderich nodded.

"What do you mean 'for once', Roddy?" Elisaveta half-whined.

So Alfred was left with that very choice- get Arthur Kirkland, the British student and his best-friend-sometimes-enemy to go with him... though he knew chances were thin. Very thin. Self-ramblings aside, he approached Arthur who was reading on his table.

"Ig-Arthur, will you please go out with me to the amusement park downtown next week? With Antonio, Lovi, Mattie, Gilbert, Ludwig, Feli, Kiku and Yao? Please?" Alfred asked-half-begged, while Elisa, Kiku, Antonio and Gilbert snickered.

"He actually used 'Arthur' instead of 'Iggy'! He really is that desperate, isn't he?" Elisaveta pointed out, whispering to the others. They nodded in agreement, for they all knew how much Arthur hated it when Alfred called him 'Iggy'.

"...No." Arthur refused defiantly, making the already snickering quartet from earlier burst into hysterics.

"W-why? Please, I'll do anything!" Alfred said, ignoring the euphoria his friends got from that not-so-subtle rejection. He had to get Arthur to go- he didn't want to be left out! So he used a last resort trick Arthur could never refuse even from they were kids- his kicked-puppy-dog face. "I'll even eat the scones you sent me last week!"

That last staement made the four laughing students choke themselves. "Is he that serious? I wouldn't have gone to such lengths if I were him..." Antonio remarked in a breathless whisper, both tired from the fits of laughter and not wanting Alfred and Arthur to hear. They also knew how terrible Arthur cooks, Gilbert ate it once... and he wasn't about to do it a second time.

Meanwhile, Arthur was having a hard time resisting. That look combined with the promises of the scone... He always had a soft spot for Alfred, especially if he used what Arthur always called 'The Look', that very same puppy-dog face.

"Alright... I guess it wouldn't hurt. Fine, I'll go, but only if you'll eat the scones later on, you git." Arthur said.

"All right! Thanks Iggy!" Alfred said, crushing Arthur in a very tight hug.

"H-hey! Get off me you fatty git! And don't call me that or I won't go!" Arthur snapped, but blushed furiously all the same. He never liked it when his personal bubble was invaded.

"Okay, so it is decided – We'll meet up in front of the park at 10am next Saturday!" Elizaveta said, setting the rendevous time and place.

"Alright, see you there! The awesome me has decided that his awesome pet chick Gilbird needs to eat, so me and my not-nearly-as-awesome boyfriend Mattie are going home, bye!" Gilbert said, making his way through the classroom door and left with Matthew by his side, who was complaining about not boing so awesome.

Everyone then said their goodbyes, slowly leaving one by one. Little did the two bickering friends from earlier knew what would come their way...

It was the promised day. Everyone wasgathered in front of the park, save for Alfred.

"Late as always, that git." Arthur grumbled.

"He'll turn up soon, believe me Arthur." Roderich assured him.

Sure enough, he did turn up... 15 minutes from the promised time. When everyone asked him why, he merely replied that 'Heroes had always came at the last second' resulting in a whack to the head from Arthur.

They then proceeded to try the numerous availale rides. They first took the roller coaster (resulting in Feliciano throwing up his breakfast, earning the rest a very vicious glare from Ludwig. They took no more high-and-fast rides afterwards) Once Feli was deemed alright by the stoic German ("I'm alright, Ludwig... It was just too fast... I'm okay now, ve~") he dragged Ludwig off the funny miror house that could make funny reflections. The remaining couples went off on their own, with Gilbert saying that they'll meet again in the restaurant for lunch.

Alfred and Arthur, now left alone, wondered what they would do. Alfred then saw a shooting booth, where you shoot targets for prizes.

"Look Arthur, they have a unicorn plushie as a main prize! D'ya want it? I know you like unicorns!" Alfred offered his mythical –creature loving friend.

"N-no need you git!" Arthur stemmered. _But it did look good..._ he thought inwardly.

Even so, Alfred secretly knew that Arthur wanted it. Simple reason, really. For one, Arthur didn't stop staring at the plush. So he paid no heed and played anyway, and won the thing. His marksmanship wasn't that bad, after all he did learn quite a lot from Vash Zwingli, who was good in weaponry.

"Here. It's for you, Arthur. As thanks for coming with me. I didn't want to be alone... So thank you, Arthur." Alfred said, handing the plush to Arthur.

Arthur blinked, but I took the plush anyway. "It's... Pretty good, I guess... Thanks, you bloody git." He murmured out clutching to plushie closer to him.

"No problem! I am the Hero, after all! NAHAHAHAHA~!" Alfred said.

"S-shut up, you git!" Arthur snapped, but couldn't keep the blush off his face.

After that, they had taken a spinning teacup ride ("The new way to enjoy tea, Iggy!", as Alfred had put it) and Arthur wasn't too happy_. (_"It made me dizzy, you fool!") After a stop at the carousel (much to the annoyance of a certain Brit) they realized it was time for lunch, and they got to the restaurant to meet up with everyone else.

As they got there, everyone wasn't surprised to see the unicorn plush doll in Arthur's hands, for they all could already guess hat happened. But just to prove their theory, they decided to ask anyway.

"Nifty toy you've got there! Where did you get it?" Antonio asked.

"I got that for him at the 'Shoot 'Em to Win 'Em' booth just over there!" Alfred beamed.

"A-Alfred!" Arthur screeched, blushing for the third time that day.

Everyone else laughed hearing that. Even the stoic German cracked a smile. They all stared at each other, and they knew that they had been right.

"Aww, that's sweet! Roddy, I want one too!" Elizaveta told her boyfriend.

"Meh! Piano priss woudn't even manage to get the smallest prize! It's not as awesome as I am, kesesese!" Gilbert remarked, laughing.

"If you badmouth my Roddy-poo again..." Elizaveta growled, pan at the ready in her hands. How she got that pan, we would never know.

"Whoa woman, easy there! I was just joking!" Gilbert raised his hands, surrendering immediately. Everyone else just laughed and proceeded to eat lunch.

After a great lunch, they all decided to go to the horror house ride.

"Well, what do we have here? A horror house ride! Looks fun to me, kesesese!" Gilbert poined to said ride.

"No, Bruder. I don't want Feli to cry again." Ludwig insisted.

"Oh, alright. Go find some other ride, Luddy!" Gilbert told Ludwig. "Meh, should've know he wouldn't want his little Feli to cry." He mumbled afterwards. But Feliciano isn't the only one scared of those rides.

"Um, don't we, uh, have better rides to try out?" Alfred squeaked out.

Even so, everyone paid no heed to him. They hurriedly queued for the ride, all excited.

After an excruciating two-hour queue, they climbed into the carriages, two by two. Alfred was already on the verge of tears. He tried to hide it, and failed miserably when it was his and Arthur's turn to ride.

"Come on Alfred. It's about time you let go of your childish fears! It's alright you git, you know it's all made up!" Arthur chided.

"Can we please go and take another ride? Please, Arthur... I don't like the nightmares..." Alfred whined, pulling him out of the line and from the queuing mass of people.

"Alright, it's okay. We'll go take another one, kay? Don't cry..." Arthur said, in an attempt to assure the boy.

"I-I'm not!" Alfred said, but his sniffs and whimpers betrayed his words.

Once they were outside the dark house, it was only then did Arthur get a full view of his face. His eyes were slightly puffy. _Might as well try and calm him down first..._

"It's alright to cry. We each have our own fears, right?" Arthur soothed, after they sat down on a nearby bench.

"But I'm the hero- I should be able to face something like that!"

"Don't force it, Al. Even heroes are imperfect. Remember when Spiderman turned evil? That is a hero's weak moments. When they give in to evil... As long as you always uphold justice, and always protect the right, you will always be a hero, no matter how imperfect and how weak you are." With that, Arthur tousled his hair slightly in a rare display of affection. "Now let's go and check other rides, okay? Wanna try that one over there?" Arthur pointed to a house that had the sign "Tilted House".

"Looks interesting, but what about the rest? Wouldn't they get confused?" Alfred queried.

"They'll contact us when they need us, I'm sure. Now let's go."

The 'tilted house' was a very peculiar house indeed. It really did live up to its name, for everything really was tilted, from the tables, the floor, and even the running tap! Both Arthur and Alfred couldn't help but laugh at the weird house. After they left the display, they went to the bumper car ride in which Alfred kept bumping into Arthur with such force that if the car wasn't made to be that durable it would have been flapjacks.

"Oi, I'm not paying for the car if you break it!" Arthur shouted.

"You only wanted to keep the unicorn in the car right? I know you're afraid of it falling off the car!" Alfred laughed.

"Stop that nickname already, and no I do not!" Arthur snapped. _But i-it was true... Oh stop it, Arthur!_ He inwardly thought, mentally slapping himself.

Afterwards, they went to the cotton candy stall nearby to buy some. As Alfred watched Arthur eat the cotton candy, he couldn't help but keep his eyes glued to the sight. _The way he takes it into his mouth, clamping it between both lips and eating it while hugging that unicorn I gave him... Adorable... I wish I could- wait a sec, what am I thinking! He's just a friend, he's-_

"What are you staring at? Is there anything weird on my face?" Arthur asked, dragging Alfred out of his thoughts and back into reality.

"There's a cotton candy on your face..." Alfred mumbled, leaning in closer.

_W-wha... What are you doing? _Arthur's mind was racing, and so was his heart. _Al- _

But before he could continue, he felt Alfred's hands brush his cheeks, dusting off the remaining cotton candy.

"Hahahaha, you look adorable when you blush, Arthur!" Alfred chortled.

"I-I'm not!"

"Says you! Hahahaha! Though it makes your eyebrows even more noticeable... I mean, black against pink! They look like dead caterpillars on pink paper! Gyahahahahaha!" Alfred laughed even louder.

"S-shut up! And they are most certainly NOT caterpillars, dead ones at that!"

As they bickered on, they noticed the crowd heading for the main entrance.

"Look at all those people, Alfred! I wonder why they're going towards the main entrance?" Arthur cocked his head, confused.

"Well then, let's ask someone!" Alfred said, pulling Arthur to a passer-by who happened to head for the same direction.

"Excuse me sir, if I may ask, why is everyone heading for the main entrance? Is the park closing down?" Arthur queried the man.

The man only laughed. "No, son! This park always has a fireworks display at 6pm! They would be launched near the main entrance, which is why everyone is heading there!"

"I see, thank you!"

"My pleasure, young lad!" And with that, the man went back to join the crowd.

"Now's 5.30pm... Say Arthur, I have a better plan! Come with me!" Alfred dragged Arthur away from the direction of the crowd.

"W-wait! Why are you dragging me away from the entrance? Don't you want to see the fireworks?" Arthur complained.

"I have a better plan. Just wait and watch!"

**_-Meanwhile, with everybody else-_**

"Um, where's my brother and Arthur? Even Ludwig and Feliciano have returned..." Matthew asked, perplexed.

"Yeah, don't they want to see the fireworks, aru?" Yao replied, just as confused.

But Elisaveta and Kiku just laughed, Elisaveta giggling and Kiku opting for a chuckle.

"Leave them be, it's alright. They need some time together. Everyone can see that they're into each other." Kiku solemnly replied, chuckling again afterwards.

"Ten bucks for them getting together after summer break!" Elisaveta wagered.

"Another ten bucks to prove this woman wrong!" Gilbert countered.

"Hah! I'm positive you'll lose!"

"Bring it on, woman!" Gilbert laughed maniacally.

"Um... shouldn't we go look for them instead..?" Matthew asked again.

"Leave them be, Matthew. As Kiku had said, your brother needs some time, too. After all, he needs some love. It's about time they get together. Don't you want to see him happy?" Roderich suggested. Knowing Elisaveta meant that sooner or later you would understand these kind of things as well.

"Alright... If it makes him happy... Besides, I think they're right. My brother needs someone like Arthur..."

**_-Back with the two lost friends-_**

"Here we are- the ferris wheel!" Alfred said, pride evident in his voice.

"Why are we here?" Arthur questioned Alfred.

"Now who's the silly one? We can get on this thing and watch the show! Since everyone's too absorbed in watching the show nearest to the point it will be launched, which is the entrance, this place will be empty! We can share a capsule, and we can ask the operator to stop us at the very top!" Alfred prattled on about his so-called plan.

Arthur was truly amazed by one of Alfred's rare moment of intelligence. "I never thought I'd say this, but it's a truly smart idea!"

"See? It's getting dark, come on!"

Sure enough, the wheel was empty, just as predicted. When they got there, Alfred approached the operator.

"Excuse me sir, could you do us a favor? Can you stop our capsule at the very top of this thing when we ride? It's empty anyway, no-one would mind!"

The operator thought for a moment, but when he saw Arthur fidgeting behind Alfred, he smiled.

"Okay, I can do that for you. Are you riding with anyone?"

"Yup! My friend and I are going on this thing! And we thought that it'd be best when it was empty so we could share a capsule!" Alfred beamed.

_More like you and your boyfriend, if not your would-be boyfriend. _ The operator chuckled inwardly, before agreeing to Alfred's request.

"Alright, hop in! Enjoy your night!" The operator said, before turning back to the control panel to get the wheel working.

"Thank you, sir! Come on, Arthur!"

As the two teens climbed into the thing, the operator turned back once more time to the duo, before sighing slightly and smiling dreamily.

"Ah, the beauty of young love..."

In the capsule, they got a full view of the park. They got up to the top just as all the lights in the park flickered to life, and Alfred was entranced by the shines and sparkles it created.

"Beautiful..." Alfred breathed.

Arthur scanned the sight in front of him, taking in its beauty and magnificence, before his eyes stopped at Alfred's face. _Serenity... A perfect expression for his seraphic features... If only I can just hold them, and- wait, hold your horses, Arthur! Alfred is just a friend!_

As if on cue, Alfred turned back to meet Arthur's face, a serious look laced with determination on his face, the earlier expression gone as if it hadn't been there.

"Hey, Arthur?"

"H-huh?" _Well. A very intelligent reply, Arthur._ Arthur mentally scolded himself.

"I, uh... this."

With the fireworks soaring into the air as a backdrop, and its spluttering and crackling as a background music, Alfred pulled Arthur closer to him, albeit with hesitation as he looked away. But as numerous sparks showered the entire park with coloured bits of flame, determination crossed Alfred's face and he closed his eyes before kissing Arthur square on the lips. A sweet, chaste kiss, but in it was Alfred's feelings, one he was trying to convey.

Arthur just sat there, stupefied and frozen, dropping the unicorn plush with a soft flop onto the capsule floor, before throwing his arms around Arthur and kissed back.

Sensing the need for air, they broke apart after a few moments.

"I...I love you, Iggy. Will you, uh, go out with me?" Alfred stammered, fire spreading from his cheeks around his face and up to the tips of his ears, causing them to glow.

"I...I've been waiting for you to say that..." Arthur mumbled, pink dusting his cheeks.

And as they turned to watch the fireworks again, Arthur nuzzled into Alfred's chest.

"Thanks for today... you idiot."

"Anything for you... Iggy."

And at that moment, the fireworks congratulated them by sending up a red chrysanthemum –shaped fireworks up to the sky and right in front of their eyes. It was one day the two of them would never forget for as long as they lived...

"Man, I can't believe it's back to school! I mean, seven weeks feels so fast..." Gilbert complained loudly.

"Hush already, I know! And oh, you still have that deal in the amusement park last time!" Elisaveta chided.

"They're coming! Be prepared, you two! It's your life-or-death moment!" Antonio warned them, though with a hint of a joke.

"Don't exaggerate."

But before anyone could say anything else, Alfred entered the class, hand interlocking with a furiously blushing Arthur.

"Good morning, all of you!" Alfred greeted in his usual exuberant manner.

"Well, well! Do we have ourselves a new couple?" Antonio smiled.

"You just hit the jackpot, my friend!" Alfred laughed.

"Alfred! Don't let the cat out of the bag!" Arthur hissed.

"It's alright, I'm sure it's pretty visible!"

"Congratulations to you, mes cheris!" Francis Bonnefoy, the French student, congratulated the new couple.

"F-Francis you bloody frog! You didn't have to hear that!" Arthur screeched, blushing even harder than humanly possible. (No pun intended, I know that they are nations, but this is Gakuen Hetalia AU)

"Everyone will come to know sooner or later, mon lapin!" Francis sing-songed.

As the two archenemies proceeded to fight, Elisaveta was basking in her victory on the other side of class.

"Hah! You lost, Gilbert! Give me my five bucks!"

"Mein Gott, Elisa! Go ask West for the money, I'm short on dough!"

"I don't wanna involve your brother in here! Pay up, you promised!"

Arthur, after beating up said frog into a pulp on the floor with his book, suddenly remembered something at the word 'promise'.

"Speaking about promises... I think someone promised that he'd eat my scones if I came with him..."

"WHAT THE HELL? ALFRED, YOU DIDN'T!" Everyone in the classroom, save for Antonio, Elisaveta, Gilbert and Kiku shrieked.

"...I did..." Alfred meekly said.

"They aren't that bad!" Arthur huffed, though no one bothered to hear. They all knew it wasn't true, anyway.

"Better hightail it outta here now..." Alfred muttered, slinking away.

But sadly, Arthur wasn't going to have it. "Oh no you don't!" Arthur said, pulling a bag of scones from his bag. "Get back here!"

"Never!" Alfred said, breaking into a run.

"You promised!" Arthur shouted, chasing him with the scones in hand.

"Somebody save me from the killer scones!"

~Owari

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Was it enough to make you USUK fans happy? And please, leave me a review if you really liked this story and show me some appreciation. This will be very highly appreciated. Thank you very much for those who did. And faving is also appreciated, but if you really wish to show me how much you liked it, then leave me a review. If you're a fellow writer, I'm sure you know how much reviews mean to you. And they mean that much to me, too.


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